Piyush Goyal to Shashi Tharoor: Politicians join viral ChatGPT ’80s trend

The 1980s phenomenon has resurfaced on social media platforms like Instagram and X, with users employing AI tools to give their modern photographs an old-school 1980s aesthetic. Several political figures, including Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, have joined the trend. Goyal shared an AI-generated portrait of himself, commenting, "Vibing to the 80s trend."

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also participated, posting his retro-inspired AI image and writing, "Getting to any trend which has nostalgia attached to it. Back to the 80s eh!"

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan contributed to the trend by posing in a sweater and writing, "80s called, I answered." BJP MP Anurag Thakur also joined, sharing a retro-style photograph on Instagram with the caption, "joining the 80s trend." Chirag Paswan and Kiren Rijiju followed suit, sharing their AI-generated and actual photographs from the 1980s, respectively.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor took a different approach, sharing photographs from his own past to join the 80s trend. The Uttarakhand Youth Congress added to the nostalgia wave by sharing AI-generated images of Lok Sabha Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi. Meanwhile, Renuka Chowdhury, Congress leader, avoided AI by sharing an actual photograph from the 1980s, noting, "Everyone’s asking ChatGPT what they would’ve looked like in the ’80s. Me? I’ve got receipts. No AI needed."